Ice rink

ABSTRACT

A water impervious sheet is connected at its perimeter with an inflatable tube to provide an ice skating rink. In use, the inflatable tube is filled with water which, when frozen, provides a solid perimeter wall for the ice rink. A skating surface is formed over the water impervious sheet by covering that sheet with a layer of water and freezing the water.

United States Patent [191 Landry ICE RINK [76] Inventor: James A. Landry, 1200 Pilgrim,

Birmingham, Mich. 48009 [22] Filed:

Jan. '22, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 325,471

[52] US. Cl 62/235, 4/177, 9/11 [51] ln t. C1. .Q A63c 19/10 [58] Field of Search 62/235;,4/177; 9/11 [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,084,236 6/1937 Babb 4/177 2,505,845 5/1950 Alvarez 4/177 2,616,096 11/1952 Hasselquist 4/177 2,672,628 3/1954 Spanel 4/177 [4 1 May 7,1974

2,896,221 7/1959 Thomas 4/177 3,001,207 9/1961 Nail 4/177 3,012,596 12/1961 Skolout 62/235 3,721,418 3/1973 Vincent 62/235 Primary Examiner-William J. Wye Attorney, Agent, or Firm-McGlynn and Milton 57] ABSTRACT A water impervious sheet is connected at its perimeter with an inflatable tube to provide an ice skating rink. In use, the inflatable tube is filled with water which, when frozen, provides a solid perimeter wall for the ice-rink. A skating surface is formed over the water impervious sheet by covering that sheet with a layer of water and freezing the water.

9 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures ?ATENTED MAY 1 mm SHEET 1 [IF 2 1 ICE RINK This invention relates to an ice skating rink.

Protable, backyard ice skating rinks are known in the prior art for use in climates having subfreezing temperatures during winter months. Ice skating surfaces are formed by freezing water inside a preformed framework. The most popular backyard skating rink uses a framework of wood, for example, two-by-fours, attached to a plastic sheet. Several variations of this fundamental theme are also known to the prior art; for example, plastic framework has been substituted for wood in one prior art skating rink design.

Whether a plastic frame or a wooden frame is employed, these prior art skating rinks require manual assembly prior to use. The framework is separate from the plastic sheeting used as a bottom, and the framework is generally comprised of several sections which must be connected when the skating rink is ,set up.

The present invention abandons the multi-member approach of prior art ice skating rinks in favor of a onepiece design. This integral design provides apparent advantages with respect to preparing the skating rink for use during the winter months: there is no frame to assemble, nor is it necessary to secure a floor to a perimeter wall. Furthermore, the single piece design of the present invention has commercial advantages compared to the prior art since cumbersome framework is eliminated from the skating rink package. It is notable, also, that the one-piece skating rink of this invention can be easily and inexpensively produced.

The ice rink of the instant invention uses a perimeter tube inflated with water which is frozen solid to provide a perimeter wall. A water impervious sheet connected at its perimeter with this inflatable tube is covered with water which freezes to provide a skating surface. The inflatable tube is provided with an axial seal, and it is sealed to the water impervious sheet-bottom along a marginal portion spaced from this axial seal. An extension of the'tube provides a water inlet through which the tube can be inflated from a water source such as a garden hose. After the tube is inflated, this inlet extension is rolled and strapped to close the tube.

The instant invention can be best understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1' is a perspective view of an ice skating rink made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in cross-section of a perimeter wall of the skating rink of FIG. 1 taken along line 22;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view in cross-section of the perimeter wall shown in FIG. 2 particularly depicting the seals of the ice rink;

FIG. 4 is a view of the inlet extension of the perimeter wall of the skating rink of FIG. 1;

' FIG. 5 is a partial section view of the skating rink of FIG. 1 depicting the inlet extension;

FIG. 6 is a partial section view of the skating rink of FIG. 1 depicting the inlet extension rolled and closed;

FIG. 7 illustrates a closure member for the inlet extension of the ice rink of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 illustrates another embodiment of the skating rink of the present invention.

Reference should now be made to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1 wherein the ice skating rink 10 of the present invention is shown in perspective view. The ice rink 10 comprises an inflatable continuous peripheral portion or tube l2 and a water impervious rectangular sheet 14 enclosed by the tube 12. The tube 12 is adapted to be inflated with water'and to retain that water after freezing to provide a peripheral ice wall, and the sheet 14 is adapted to be covered with water which, when frozen, provides an ice skating surface. The tube 12 is filled through an inlet means 16 comprising an integral extension of the tube 12. After filling, the tube 12 is closed by a closure means 18 comprising a closure member adapted to envelop the inlet extension 16 of the tube 12.

In the present invention an ice skating rink is provided by supplying water to the tube 12, freezing that water in the tube 12, covering the sheet 14 with water, and freezing that water to provide a skating surface. The resultant ice rink has a solid perimeter wall comprising the ice in the tube 12 and a skating surface comprising the ice covering the sheet 14.

FIG. 2 shows the tube 12 filled with water. An axial seal 20, best shown in FIG. 3, extends the entire length of the tube 12. This seal 20 retains the water in the tube 12 after filling. As shown in FIG. 3, theshe et is connected with and sealed to the tube 12 along an axial seal 22 spaced from the axial seal 20 and located on a marginal portion 23 of the tube 12. Although numerous types of seals can be used for the seal 20 and the seal 22, autogenous seals are'used in the illustrated embodiment. This two-part seal one seal for the tube 12 and one seal for the connection between the sheet 14 and the tube 12 facilitates the manufacture of the ice rink l0.

FIG. 4 shows the inlet extension 16 as it appears during the time the tube 12 is being filled with water'from a water source such as a garden hose 24. As illustrated, the inlet extension is retained on the garden hose 24 by a retaining ring 26 which can be, for example, a rubber band. The retaining ring 26 also serves as a relief valve limiting the water pressure within the tube 12 during filling i.e., the retaining ring 26 allows water to flow from the tube 12 if the water pressure in the tube 12 exceeds a maximum pressure. j

As shown in'FIG. 7,-'the closure member'l8 includes an elongated slot 28 to envelop the inlet extension 16 when the closure member 18 is slipped onto the end of the inlet extension 16 as shown in FIG. 5. The closure member 18 also includes a pair of notches 30, a tab 32 defined by the notches 30, and an opening 34 at the end of the closure member 18 opposite the tab 32. To close the tube 12, the inlet extension 16 is inserted into the slot 28 of the closure member 18, the inlet extension 16 is rolled into a spiral with the closure member 18 substantially in the center thereof as shown in FIG. 6, the closure member 18 is wrapped around this spiral, and the-tab 32 is inserted into the opening 34 such that the notches 30 engage the sides of the opening 34 to prevent the inlet extension 16 from unrolling after the closure member 18 is closed onto itself.

As noted above, and as best shown in FIG. 5, the inlet extension 16 is an extension of the tube 12. From the inlet extension 16, the water passage of the tube 12 continues unobstructed around the periphery of the skating rink 10 man end portion 35. The portion 35 seals the tube 12, and this end portion 35 is, in turn, secured to the tube 12 adjacent the inlet extension 16 by means of an appropriate bond. In view of the described structure, it should be understood that water injected into the tube 12 flows freely from the inlet extension 16 through all four sides of the tube 12 shown in FIG. 1, except thewater cannot flow past the end portion 35 shown in FIG. 5. This design for the tube 12 sealed at one end and open'at the other end for filling with water facilitates the economical manufacture of the skating rink 10.

FIG. 8 depicts an ice skating rink 36 similar to that of FIG. lwith four inlet extension filler tubes 38 rather than one. In this embodiment of the invention, each side 40 of the skating rink 36 comprises a tube sealed at one end and having an inlet extension at the other end; each corner of the skating rink 36 is of the form shown in FIG. 5.

The peripheral tubes of the illustrated ice rinks can take a variety of forms but it has been found that tubes approximately 12 inches in diameter are particularly suited for the manufacture of the ice rinks. Also, al-

though a variety of materials can be used in the fabricastood that various changes and modifications could be engrafted thereon by one skilled in the art within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An ice rink comprising an inflatable continuous peripheral portion adapted to be inflated with water and adapted to retain that water after freezing to provide a peripheral ice wall and a water impervious sheet enclosed by said inflatable continuous peripheral portion and adapted to be covered with water which, when frozen, provides an ice skating surface, said inflatable continuous peripheral portion including at least one water impervious tube having an axially extending seal,

' said water impervious sheet being sealed to said water impervious tube at a position spaced from said axial seal of said tube.

2. An ice rink as in claim .1 wherein the seal between said water impervious tube and said water impervious sheet is located on a marginal flap portion which-extends from said water impervious tube.

3. An ice rink as in claim 1, including inlet means in said water impervious tube comprising an extension of said water impervious tube. I

4. An ice rink as in claim 3, including closure means whereby said inlet means is closed to retain water in said water impervious tube.

5. An ice rink as in claim 4, wherein said closure means comprises a member adapted to envelop said inlet means such that the inlet means can be spirally rolled.

6. An ice rink as in claim 5, wherein said water impervious sheet is substantially rectangular.

7. An ice rink as in claim 1, wherein said tube includes a sealed end and an inlet extension at the end opposite said sealed end.

8. An ice rink as in claim I, wherein said continuous peripheral portion comprises a plurality of tubes, each having a sealed end. Y

9. An ice rink as in claim 8, wherein each tube of said plurality of tubes includes an inlet extension at the end thereof opposite said sealed end. 

1. An ice rink comprising an inflatable continuous peripheral portion adapted to be inflated with water and adapted to retain that water after freezing to provide a peripheral ice wall and a water impervious sheet enclosed by said inflatable continuous peripheral portion and adapted to be covered with water which, when frozen, provides an ice skating surface, said inflatable continuous peripheral portion including at least one water impervious tube having an axially extending seal, said water impervious sheet being sealed to said water impervious tube at a position spaced from said axial seal of said tube.
 2. An ice rink as in claim 1 wherein the seal between said water impervious tube and said water impervious sheet is located on a marginal flap portion which extends from said water impervious tube.
 3. An ice rink as in claim 1, including inlet means in said water impervious tube comprising an extension of said water impervious tube.
 4. An ice rink as in claim 3, including closure means whereby said inlet means is closed to retain water in said water impervious tube.
 5. An ice rink as in claim 4, wherein said closure means comprises a member adapted to envelop said inlet means such that the inlet means can be spirally rolled.
 6. An ice rink as in claim 5, wherein said water impervious sheet is substantially rectangular.
 7. An ice rink as in claim 1, wherein said tube includes a sealed end and an inlet extension at the end opposite said sealed end.
 8. An ice rink as in claim 1, wherein said continuous peripheral portion comprises a plurality of tubes, each having a sealed end.
 9. An ice rink as in claim 8, wherein each tube of said plurality of tubes includes an inlet extension at the end thereof opposite said sealed end. 